Charles I (1600 – 1649)

The reign of Charles I is most remembered for the Civil War bringing conflict between Cavaliers and the Roundheads of Oliver Cromwell, ending with the trail and execution of the King.

Charles was born in Fife in Scotland, the second son of James VI of Scotland, who in 1603 became James I of England. When James’ eldest son Henry died as a boy, Charles became the next to succeed him as the King of both England and Scotland.

James’ rule in England was marked by continuous wrangling with Parliament and like his father, Charles held to the same belief in the divine right of Kings, that as chosen by God, the King is above the judgement of men and the King’s rule is absolute.

Charles is regarded as a deeply arrogant, self-righteous man and an incompetent King verging on megalomania. His outrageous spending constantly stretched the royal budget into further and further debt. Charles was a devotee of High Anglicanism and was married to Henrietta Maria of France, a Roman Catholic. Factors that further increased his unpopularity with Parliament.

Between 1625 and 1629, Charles I dissolved Parliament three times, before deciding to rule without Parliament for 11 years. When Charles attempted to impose his religious views upon his subjects, by enforcing the Book of Common Prayer, rebellion erupted in Scotland. To suppress the rebels, Charles convened Parliament to raise taxes for war in Scotland, but Parliament refused. Frustrated, Charles decided to have the leading dissenters arrested, and on 4th January 1642 led his forces to the House of Commons, but the “birds had flown’. The divide was now irreversible and civil war erupted.

Charles left London and raised his Royal Standard in Nottingham gathering his supporters from landed nobility, known as Cavaliers and their peasant tenants. Parliament forces were drawn from the emerging Puritan middle classes, led by Oliver Cromwell. This New Model Army was known as the Roundheads and war waged throughout England until the Battle of Naseby in 1644 resulted in a decisive victory for the Roundheads. Charles was laid siege in his royalist base in Oxford, but managed to escape to Scotland in 1646, where he hoped to gain sympathy. But the Scots handed him over to Parliament and he was put under house arrest at Hampton Court.

But Charles continued to plot against Parliament and managed to escape. He came to an agreement with the Scottish rebels, which led them to invade the north of England, while the Royalists rose up in Wales and parts of England. Pitched battles and prolonged sieges followed, but the Royalists were fighting a loosing battle and Charles was forced to give up.

In 1648, the King was put on trail for treason. Charles refused to enter a plea, stating that no court has jurisdiction over a king and that his authority was given to him by God. The decision to execute Charles was reached after a vote of 68 to 67 and on January 30 1649, King Charles I was beheaded outside Banqueting House in Whitehall